


Oh, Blarg!

by FrozenHearts



Series: To Boldly Go [2]
Category: Ratchet & Clank, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Black Markets, Bolts & Screws, First Meetings, Flea Markets, Gen, Insults, Meet-Awkward, Mentioned Blarg, Money, On the Run, Post-Star Trek Beyond, Stealing, Swindling Salesmen, Threats, What the fuck is a Lombax, Yorktown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-13 08:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9115543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: Jim saves a small alien from getting skinned alive.Bones doesn't want to have to deal with the possibility of alien rabies.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I recently got a PS4 and I was playing Ratchet & Clank and this came about.

All Ratchet wanted to do was get a new sisterboard for Clank, get a new engine for his ship and leave for Veldin as soon as he could. Sure, Yorktown was interesting; everything was clean as opposed to dusty like Veldin, and people weren't running for their lives from evil red space robots. There were shops and cafes and everything was just so nice.

Of course, he just had to get his stuff and go. The Lombax had a backpack full of weapons on his person and he was fairly certain the Federation would not appreciate his having them in a place like this. 

"Oi, pipsqueak!" a gruff voice bellowed, and Ratchet found himself pushed harshly aside, "Get outta my way!"

Ratchet nodded, "Mmm-hmmm. Listen I need to get on the line first, my sh-"

"Who cares? Besides, you don't look like a mechanic."

Ratchet rolled his eyes. Now he remembered why he didn't leave the garage on Veldin for all those years. People were so....

"And you do?" Ratchet shot back, "Listen, your little cassette tape will probably still be there I have an injured crewmate and a broken engine to fix!"

Apparently the man found that funny. Funny! Ohhh, Ratchet was so ready to just whip out his blaster and shoot his way to the front. Clank needed him, they needed to get back to Veldin and he didn't have time to argue.

"Whaddya need a ship for anyway? You probably have an apartment here in Yorktown," the man scoffed. Spinning on his heel, the man started to walk away. Alright, alright; Ratchet currently was proud that he hadn't threatened anyone yet. As a candidate for Ranger, that was a pretty good start. So Ratchet calmed himself down, quickly scurrying through the crowd until he found it.

He almost cried- no one was waiting at the stall! The vendor sat with a bored expression on his face, displaying multiple parts and scraps of metal for sale. Ratchet ran up to the table, clearing his throat, "Excuse me!"

The vendor blinked, however he failed to acknowledge his new customer. Ratchet waved at him, jumping to try and catch his attention.

All he got for his efforts was the bark of laughter from behind, and the vendor fibally picking his head up from whatever he was doing, "May I help you?"

Ha! Take that, fellow market-goer! Ratchet kept hopping in place, his tail swishing with each footfall. Taking a deep breath, he announced, "Finally! Yeah, I need-"

"Can I get an engine piece, buddy?" Ratchet almost growled- the same man from moments ago was towering over him, shadow long across the ground. 

The vendor either honestly didn't see him or was ignoring him on purpose because he leaned over Ratchet's head, "Oh, cool. Any other parts while you're at it?"

Ratchet snarled, flipping into his jump. He reached the man's shoulder, his tail accidentally grazing the man's cheek on the descent.

"Hey! I was in line first!" Ratchet protested, "And I need that engine!"

The vendor blinked, "Dude...."

"What?" Ratchet hopped up on the table, squaring his shoulders, "Listen, I need-"

The man behind Ratchet snickered, and the Lombax found himself lifted up by the straps of his bag. He caught the amused gleam in the vendor's eye as the man turns in place, swinging Ratchet haphazardly.

"Hey! Anyone loose their pet? This cat doesn't have a collar!"

\-------

"Alright, so what did Scotty say we needed?" Jim frowned as he strolled through the market, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. It was hotter than he thought it would be, sweat dripping down his back, dampening the gold uniform shirt he wore. Bones didn't look much better, his dark hair stringy with perspiration.

"An compressor and a parking break." Bones grunted. 

"Did Sulu leave it on again?" Jim grinned. It had become something of a running gag amongst the crew ever since their first year under Captain Pike. Of course, Sulu would deny to high heaven that he forgot to turn off the inertial dampener even to this day.

"Nah, he thought it would be a good idea to try and fix it himself instead of getting Jaylah or Scotty to fix it," Bones explained. He wiped his forehead as they delved deeper into the crowd; the blue tent was just a few feet ahead of them, a line already starting to form. The vendor looked quite amused at the man spinning around in front of his table, his merchandise glinting for attention.

"Looks like they're having fun," Bones grumbled, gesturing for Jim to walk ahead, "Shall we?"

Jim nodded, kicking up small clouds of dirt as he jogged towards the stall-

-and promptly found himself with a facefull of orange fur and leather jacket. The man who had been spinning a second earlier stopped suddenly, the orange and yellow mass flying from his grip to scratch for purchase on Jim's face. Bones was already yelling at him, as whatever he was attacked with suddenly jumped iff him.

"Sorry about that!" the man said.

Jim lifted a hand to his face, raising an eyebrow when he failed to find even a scratch- Bones, however, was already scanning him, glaring at the man, "Watch your squirrel, sir!"

"It isn't a squirrel, it's a cat!" the man protested, and I ran into it while trying to buy my engine piece."

Jim noticed the.... creature (he didn't really know what to call it, since it obviously wasn't a cat or a squirrel), snort with disbelief, slinging it's backpack off its shoulders as it flattened its ears.

"I was already on line for that engine piece!" the creature said, "You bucket of bolts!"

"I ain't taking this from a weasel-"

Jim grimaced as he watched the two bicker. The engine piece in question was sitting on the trestle table, the vendor looking bored as he watched.

"Why don't we go somewhere else, Jim?" Bones muttered. Jim shrugged. It was obvious that the man was to blame, as the weird creature tried explaining something. It sounded like they had had this conversation before, too.

"I am not a weasel!" the creature sneered.

Jim frowned when the man nudged his arm, "Can you believe this thing? Says it's in need of an engine and a sisterboard. Pffft! Probably has an apartment here in Yorktown."

"An engine, huh?" Jim met Bones's curious glare, "Are you a mechanic?"

The creature nodded, "Yes! I have a garage on the planet Veldin, and I really need-"

"You're a rat!" the man bellowed. Bones grunted as Jim gave the man a disappointed look. He didn't know the whole situation, but he knew there was always two sides and tgis man was obviously a liar. And an asshole. Both, really.

"I am a Lombax!" the alien cried, "LOM-BAX! And I need this engine to fix my ship!"

Lombax, huh? Jim made a mental note to ask Uhura if she knew of them. Or the planet Veldin, which he hadn't even known existed. 

The man broke through his thoughts with a nasty taunt, "As-if! What are you gonna do? You have rocks in your bag to throw at me or something?"

Jim decided he liked this Lombax guy as he gave a sinister grin, unzipping the green backpack slowly. Bones was muttering under his breath, but Jim ignored him. The backpack seemed fit to burst, with strange items pressing against the cloth, threatening to rip the seams.

For  second, Jim did expect rocks to be in that bag, since it looked so heavy, but what he revealed was honestly so much better.

The Lombax whipped out a heavy glove, gears whirring as he held his hand up and out, fingers splayed carefully. A circle in the center of the palm glowed a brilliant blue, casting an eerie light in the alien's eyes.

"I could just shoot you with this," the alien said, "But I don't think the Federation would take to kindly to the murder of a civilian."

Jim laughed at the man's expression, the pure umbstruck we in his eyes. The weapon looked pretty high tech, but the whirring noise was slightly grating on the ears. The Lombax wiggled its gloved hand, the blue light dimming slightly as he wiggled his brow.

"Whatever, you're crazy!" the man knocked into Bones as he turned and stalked off.

The Lombax looked on with satisfaction before lowering his hand, giving Jim and Bones an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that," he said, "First time in Yorktown, still trying to figure everything out."

"I would suggest putting your weapon away," Bones grunted, "Yorktown is a safezone."

The Lombax rolled his eyes but lowered the weapon anyway, "When people are trying to either eat your brain or skin you for your fur, the weapon becomes necessary."

Oh. Jim grimaced at the mere thought. If this was happening still, shouldn't the Federation have stepped in? Usually on missions, the crew was warned on what kind of people the planet hosted. Jim looked over at Bones; he seemed less than thrilled about the idea as well, looking a little green around the gills.

"Why don't you come back to my ship? I'm Captain Kirk, this is my Medical Officer, Dr. McCoy," Jim introduced himself, "we can help fix your ship and navigate you in the right direction."

The Lombax grinned, "Sweet! I'm Ratchet, by the way. You'll meet Clank in a few minutes, I just need to grab him from the ship."

"Is Clank a..... Lorax too?" Jim asked.

Ratchet laughed, "Lombax. And no, I'm actually one of the few Lombaxes left. You won't find much information on us in any of your databases."

Jim frowned, "So you're an endangered species?"

Ratchet nodded, "It isn't that bad, considering the rest of my species is supposedly somewhere living it up in some alternate dimension, but I obviously wasn't invited, so I'm just doing my best."

"Oh," was all Jim found he could say as Bones gestured for him to follow. Right, the parking brake. The Enterprise need one.

Ratchet was collecting his newly purchased items, pausing to heft them higher into his arms. Jim could see his clothes were dirty, the green cloth stained  and his leather floves  at the seams. The left leg of his pants were torn, the yellow fur matted with what looked like dried blood. Jim pointed it out to Bones, who frowned at the alien.

"Seems to me like you have an injury that needs tending to," Bones drawled, "Mind if I take a look?"

Ratchet's ears twitched as he regarded the doctor, "Can I trust that you won't try to skin me alive?"

Jim paled, "Is that where that's from?"

Ratchet didn't answer, averting his gaze.

"Let me patch you up, kid," Bones sighed, "we can help you fix your ship."

"And Clank?" Ratchet pressed, "You can help fix him too?"

Jim exchanged a look with Bones. The doctor nodded reluctantly, "We can fix Clank up too. Let's see what we can salvage from your ship, alright?"

Ratchet beamed, "Alright! Oh, and for the record, I'm not a cat, and I'm not a pet."

Bone huffed, "Noted. Let's get going before you decide to give another unsuspecting asshole Lombax rabies."

"Hey!"

**Author's Note:**

> Which group would you like the crew to meet next? Let me know in the comments!


End file.
